There was a point in time when Kevin Owens thought he’d never step foot in a wrestling ring again.
Owens made his shocking return on Night 2 of WWE SummerSlam on Sunday, winning a #1 contenders match for a shot at CM Punk’s Undisputed WWE Championship. The opportunity was his first match since March 2025, and his first in-ring appearance since undergoing neck surgery.
When Owens had neck surgery last year, he was open about the fact that he didn’t know when he would return. His return date, if there even was one, was entirely dependent on how his neck would heal following the surgery.
It wasn’t long ago that Owens was losing hope on the future of his career, he explained on the WWE Summerslam post-show this evening. Here’s what Owens said when asked by Big E if he had ever considered that his career had come to an end.
“There was a moment where I thought it wasn’t going to happen, and I definitely did not make peace with it. I was not ready [to retire]. Getting this taken away from me when you’re not ready is hard. But, I had such a great group around me to support me through it. My wife, my kids, my parents that got me through all this. My friends, the WWE medical staff, even you [Big E], I would talk to you a lot. But I was never okay with it. Honestly, up until a month ago, I was like ‘This may be it.’ They kept doing scans, they kept not showing exactly what we were hoping for as far as the healing process from the surgery. I was like ‘Well, maybe it’s just not going to happen.’ Then a few weeks ago we did a scan and they were like ‘We finally saw what we needed to see, you can get back in the ring.'”
When asked about what’s next for him, Owens explained that he plans to go all-out in the ring until he can’t wrestle anymore.
“I’m not back to half-ass this stuff. I’ve been told by everyone, the WWE medical staff, my family, everybody, even my surgeon: ‘Please be careful.’ I told everyone, ‘Alright, I’ll be careful.’ I’m never being careful. I’m giving everything I have, always. If that means I’m done in two years, that means I’m done in two years. But we’re gonna have a blast for two years. Hopefully it’s longer than that, but you’re never getting less than everything I have.”
Before leaving the post-show, Owens mentioned AEW’s Tanea Brooks a.k.a. Rebel, who was diagnosed with terminal ALS earlier this year. He said that seeing Rebel’s courage helped inspire him on his road back.
“She’s currently battling ALS, and the way she’s doing it is so incredible,” Owens said. “I looked at her and what she was going through and the way she powered through it, and it was truly inspirational.”
